Means for knitting on axially opposed needle cylinder circular knitting machines



Aug. 13, 1935. T. s. 'GRIEVE 2,011,360

MEANS FOR KNITTING ON AXIALLY OPPOSED NEEDLE CYLINDER CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINES Filed Nov. 22, 1934 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Aug. 13, 1935. T, s. GRIEVE i 2,011,360

MEANS FOR KNITTING ON AXIALLY OPPOSED NEEDLE CYLINDER CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINES Filed Nov. 22, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Aug. 13, 1935. T. s. GRIEVE 2,011,360

MEANS FOR KNITTING ON AXIALLY OPPOSED NEEDLE CYLINDER CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINES Filed Nov. 22, 1934 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 jwx Patented Aug. 13, 1935 MEANS FOR "KNITTING :oN AXIALLY orrosin) NEEDLE CYLINDER ,ornoomn KNITTING MACHINES i Thomas-Scott Grieve, LeicesterfEngland Application November 22, 1934, Serial No.754,351

In Great Britain November 28, 1933' I 6 Claims. (01. 66-44) This invention relates to circular rib knitting machines of the double axially opposedjneedle cylinder type furnished with holding-down sinkers or web holders, and the object of the inven- "tion is to provide an improved method of and means for controlling loop formation by rib and plain needles. 7

'The invention is intended tobe carried into effect mainlyfthough not necessarily exclusively,

in connection with machines of the superposed rotary'needle cylinder type employing doubleended needles operable by means of sliders.

The invention is moreover applicable both to machines having inside holding-down sinkers or web holders, and to machines having outside eE-adraw edge over which usually the plain needles draw yarn in loop formation and which assists rib and plain knitting cam systems of the ma-' chine. l I

holding-down sinkers or web holders, such elements in each case consisting of thin blade-like pieces each furnished with a nib and a throat for holding down the knitted loops or-web and in casting an old loop completely off the needle.

In order that the invention may be clearly and readily understood a convenient and practical example will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein,

Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of partof a circulanknitting machine of the superposed'rotary needle cylinder type adapted for carrying the invention into practice, and furnished with aux iliary' holding-down means including an eccentrically disposed wheel or disc hereinafter described.

Figure 2 is a plan view of part of the cam means employed in the machine for controlling the holding-down sinkers or web holders.

Figure 3 is a sectional elevation taken on line III-J11 of Figure 2 showing one of the plain needles drawing yarn down upon the draw edge of an adjacent holding-down sinker or web holder. Figure 4 is a sectionalelevation-taken on line IVIV of Figure 2 showing a rib needle drawing yarn round the nib of an adjacent holding-down sinker or web holder.

Figure 5 is a-layout or developed view of the Figure dis a sectional plan of the rib needle cylinder showing the aforesaid eccentrically dis posed wheel or disc therein in the operative posij tion.

Figure 7 is a sectional elevation of said wheel ordisc, and adjacent parts of the machine, taken on line VII'-VII of Figure 6, and

Figure 8 is a front elevation of the feeder plate of the machine showingthe disposition of the; plate in relation to the needles during 'recipro cating knitting.

7 Figures 3,4 and 7 are drawn on scale. z 1

j-Referrin'g an enlarged to the drawings, in one-convenient f and practical example of carrying-the invention:

into effect inconju'nction with a circular rib knitting machine of the superposed rotary needle cyl inder type furnished with double'ended needles a} a operable bymeans of sliders 12,17, for produc ing'seamless hosiery, I utilize, in association with the bottom cylinder I, an outside sinker attach ment including, in anouter bed 2, horizontally and radially slidable holding-down sinkers or web holders? (see particularly Figures 3 and 4) With'* comparatively wide throats 4 below the nibs 5.

As shown in Fi'gure 2 I'provide in thesinker cam' cap or ring 6 a sinker cam arrangement including a' 1'ixed cam I disposed so that'during circular; ribknitting these hoIding doWnsinke'rsf or web holders are moved inwards after the plain needles a have engaged the yarn c and laid or drawn it down upon the usual draw edges 8,as'-shown in Figure *3, but before the hooks of the rib'needle' a engage theyarn, so that after such inward movement of the sinkers or web holders by the cam the nibs 5 oftheholding-down"sinkersor web holders extend over the said yarn, as shown in Figure 4, whe1eby,when" the rib needlesa/ rise sinkers or web holders is earlier and less'than the customary movementfor Web holding pur-Q The sinker cam cap is also fitted with an poses.

80 to form loops and knit, they draw yarn round the lower edges of the aforesaid nibsjasshown in Figure 4. This movement of theholding-down" adjustable cam 'il'for' imparting further-inward movementto the holding-down sinkers or Zweb holders 3 so that they function as usual to hold down the knitted Web when the plain" needles ri'se after knitting. The sinkerfcam arrangement also conveniently includes cams l0 and" I Lsimi-h lar to the cams -and,9',' for imparting similar inward movements to'the' holding-down 'sinkers ciprocatingknitting.

Referring to Figure system A is'divided into two parts. one-of which comprises cams l2, I3 for action upon the transfer butts d of the bottom sliders b in advance of sufliciently' to take the yarn supplied through the '55 feeder I5 and*draw samedownuponthe draw 5, the plain knitting an,

or web holders during the reverse strokes o'r' rethe stitch forming or knocking over; 'c'am'l'f'for the plain needles,- dur'ingcircular knitting, so as to cause the corresponding needles to descend F edges 8 of the holding-down sinkers or web hold- .ers, as described with reference to Figure 3, and to maintain the needles at this level until the holding-down sinkers or web holders are moved 5 inwards by the cam 1, Figure 2, as aforesaid and the rib needles a commence to draw their loops. The otherpart includes the stitch or knocking over cam l4-for action on the knitting butts e of .the same sliders during circular knitting and 10 which is disposed at the requisite distance in a circumferenial direction from the feeder l5 to" enable the needles to pause or dwell in their descent as aforesaid. The cams I2, l3 for initially lowering the plain needles are carried by a fixed 15 part of the bottom cam box IE and the stitch forming or knocking over cam I4 is mounted on a support I? movable up and down in the cam box I 6 so as to enable the stitch length to be varied as hereinbefore alluded to, the up and 20 down movement of said support being controlled from the main control drum of themachine through suitable intermediate connections of a form usually adopted in circular knitting machines of the character concerned and therefore not necessary to describe and show. 1

' 3, 4 and 5, as the needle cylinders rotate the needles'and sliderstravel in the direction of the arrow in Figure 5. When the transfe r butts d of l the slidersb engage the cams l2 and I3 the corresponding needles are pulled down to the position shown in Figure 3, thus being caused to take yarn at the feeder l5 and to draw same 5;down upon the upper edges or breasts 8 of the.

holding-down sinkers or web holders which .at

this stage have been moved radially outwards to their normal position at the feeder by the usual sinker retracting cam I8. Asthe slider butts d ;:gpass under the cam l3 the needles are caused to dwell in the position shown in Figure 3 while the holding-downsinkers or web holders are pushed inwards bythe cam 1 to the position shown in Figure 4 in which they remain for a short-time i flier-by reason of the formation of the sinkercami track at l9, so-that the rib needles a can draw yarn round-the lower edges of the sinker nibs, as shown, when raised to take yarn at the feeder l and to knit by the action of the rib knitting .31::nanner and the holding-down sinkersor web holders are in their turn moved further inwards by the cam 9 so that they function to hold down the knitted web when the plainneedles rise under the action of the cam 20 on the knitting butts 030f theassociated sliders.

-As shown in Figure 5, the rib knitting camn system is generally of customary. form, and.in-,

cludes a welt cam w-adapted to be automatically withdrawn for a predetermined number of courses :3).so as to enable the knitting butts of the sliders in the top cylinder to pass below knitting cams r so that knitting is suspended von the rib needles while continued on the plain needles to form welt courses after which the cam .is rendered woperative again so that knitting is resumed. on

the rib needles to complete the welt. In addition to the cams described a guard cam 2| and a reverse slider lowering'cam 22'are provided on the fixed part of the cam box IE, and a guard-'23 3 7 a reverse stitch forming or knocking over cam Describing the method according .to the in- I vention with particular reference to Figures 2, I

46 'slidable in a. guideway fl in one of the cam 24 are provided on the aforesaid movable part 11 for reciprocating knitting.

Referring to Figures 1, 6 and 7, a. small disc or Wheel '25 is movably supported eccentrically within the top cylinder 26 with its axis, vertical or 5 substantially so on the side adjacent to the stitch forming point of the rib needles so as to enable it to be moved to and from a position wherein its periphery is disposed within the needles circle" between the lower end of the top cylinder and the nibs of the holding-down sinkers or web holders and in close proximity to the backs of the rib needles at this point, as shown in Figure 7, in order to constitute a temporary draw-edge for the rib needles upon resumption of rib knitting after the formation of welt courses represented diagrammatically at w in Figure '7 by the plain needles. This disc or wheel is mounted so as to 7 enable it to revolve freely on the lower end of a rod 21 suspended longitudinally within the top needle cylinder from one end of a lever 28 pivotally mountedat the other end on a'bracket 29 attached to thetop plate 30 of the machine. This lever is connected by a link 3| with a lower lever 32 operable by or from the control drum 33 e. g. 5. through the medium of another lever and a push rod 35, the lever 28 being moved up and down to move the disc or wheel from the operative position (Figure 7) to the inoperative position (Figure l) andvice-versa. Conveniently the upward movement of the lever is imparted by a compression spring 36 interposed between a boss 31 onthe lever and a socket 38 on the flange 39 of thetop cylinder bearing sleeve 40, and the downward movement is imparted by a cam bit or 5 5 piece 4| on' the control drumwhich is racked round as usual so that-the movements of the disc or wheel, are effected at the proper times. Normally the disc or wheel 2 5 is maintained in theinoperative position shown in Figure 1 by the spring 36, and just prior to the resumptionof rib knittingto form alocking course for the welt, the lever 34 is operated. by the cam bit. or piece 4i so that the disc or wheel ismoved to and temporarily held in the operative. position 3;; at the back of the'rib needles, as shown in -Fig-: ure 7, so .that the adjacent portion of the periphery. provides a temporary draw edge for these needles as aforesaid. Thelever32 is mounted in a bracket 42 attached to the bottom plate 43 :3 of the machine, and the push rod35 is slidably mounted ina'bracket 44 also attached to the bot'- tom plate. The lever 34 is mounted on the lower 1 part of the machine frame as usual.- I I In a circular rib knitting machine of the super- :53 posed needle cylindertype adapted to operate a with both circularaction for tubular knitting and reciprocatory action, e.v g. for heel and-toe knitting as in a seamless hosiery machineand a to knit in accordance with the method hereinbefore described, I provide a feeder movable up and downfor varying the angle at which the yarn 7 extends to the needles from the feed hole or slot so that the yarn may be disposedat a steeper angle forreciprocating knitting than it 1.; is for circular knitting- ConvenientlyQas shown in Figures 1 and 8, the feeder consists of the plate I l5 provided with the requisite hole or mot 45 and formed or mounted on a block orlike piece boxes, e. g. the top cam box 48 as shown. "This feeder may be operated in one, e. g. the upward direction by a spring 49 and moved in. the oppo-. site direction by a lever 50 operated through intermediate connections by a cam 5| on the control 75.: I.

I is in use.

,1 position of drum 3:. These intermediate connections cornconnected to the lever v5% and to 53 mounted in the bracket {12,a

prise a link 52 a lower lever push rod 5Emountedin the bracket for action,

upon the lever 53 and a lever 55 mounted on the same pivot pin by-the cam 51. The lever 50 i's'pivoted on a pin'in an eye. piece- 5? or equivalent fixed in the topplate 3-0. As shown in'Flgure l, the cam 5| is of such circumferential extent as normally to maintain. the feeder plate in the lower posi-- tion for circular knitting. At the commencement of reciprocating knitting the lever drops off the cam 5| so that the feeder plate is raised to the position shown in Figure 8 and,'as shown in this figure, the yarnc between the last needle to knit.

f :each. side of the group of operative needles from engaging the length of yarn between said needles and1the' feedhole or slot, and pressing same sinuously between the adjacent inoperative needles. This is an objectionto be avoided on :account of the fact that when the machine reverses the take-up usually provided has to straighten out the yarn in addition to pulling it back through the feeder so that the yarn is subjected to undue tension and" is liable to break especially if, as may be the case, it has been mutilated by the aforesaid nibs and/ or a fine yarn It may, however, be pointed out that while the feeding of the yarn with the feed hole or slot at the higherlevel is desirable for reciprocating knitting, and might be suitable for circular plain knitting, the height of the feed hole or slot must bear a definite relation to needles knitting in the top cylinder and for this reason a disposition of the feed hole or slot at a level suitable for reciprocating knitting may not be satisfactory or even possible for rib knitting. It is therefore an advantage to be able to vary the height of the feed hole or slot aforesaid so that after raising the feeder for reciprocating knitting said feeder may be restored to its original position for circular knitting and rib knitting in particular. The feeder maybe moved down to a stop in order to locate the feed hole or slot in the desired definite normal position, in which case the intermediate connections may be of a yieldable character.

The invention herein described is not limited to double axially opposed needle cylinder machines furnished with the outside sinker attachment particularly referred to nor to seamless hosiery machines as it may be carried into practice in machines of the same type furnished with inside sinkers of known form and arrangement and in machines for producing fabric or articles other than seamless hosiery.

What I claim then is:- g

l. A circular knitting machine furnished with double axially opposed needle cylinders, double ended needles, needle operating sliders having knitting and transfer butts for transferring needles from one cylinder to the other so as to enable needles to operate in both cylinders for rib knitting, a series of holding-down sinkers or web holders, a sinker cam arrangement adapted to move the holding-down sinkers or web holders inwards from their normal outward position at 58 as the lever 34 and acted upon purpose of this adjustment of the.

the yarn feeding location earlier but toa lesser extent than is customary'for web holding purposeaa rib cam system, and a plain knitting'cam system formed in two parts one of which is fixed and carries cam means for action upon the transfer butts of the sliders to move the plain needles tora'position. in which they pause ordwell in their loop forming movementwith the yarn l'aid-- upon the usual draw edges of the holding-down sinkers or web holders until the latter havebeen' moved inwards as aforesaid and the other tr whichparts'carries the stitch forming or knocking'over cam means for action-upon the knitting. butts of said sliders and is adjustable so asto" enable the-stitch length to be varied, so that aiter the plain needles have laid the knittingyarn j:

upon the usual draw edges of the holding-down sinkers or web holders the rib needles are caused to draw the yarn round the lower edges of the sinker or web holder nibs. 1

, 2. In a circular knitting machine which has double axially opposed needle cylinders, needles adapted to operate in both cylinders for rib knitting, a series of holding-down sinkers orweb' holders, and'is adapted automatically to produce welts by suspending knitting on the rib needles for a plurality of courses and then resuming rib knitting, means adapted to controlj and operate the holding-down sinkers orweb];- holders conjointly with the needles in such a manner that needles knitting in both cylinders are caused respectively to draw yarn, in forming loops, round different drawedges presented'by the holding-down sinkers or webholders,"'and" a member. adapted for use temporarily as auxiliary holding-down means in association with the rib needles after the formation of plain knitted welt courses to enable said needles definitely to draw loops, when they resume knitting, independently of the holding-down sinkers or web holders. 1

adapted to operate inboth cylinders for rib knitting, a series of holding-down sinkers or web holders, and is adapted automatically to produce welts by suspending knitting on the rib needles for a plurality-of courses and then resuming rib knitting, means adapted to control and operate the holding-down sinkers or web holders conjointly with the needles in such a manner that needles knitting in both cylinders are caused respectively to draw yarn, in forming loops, roundv different edges presented by the holding-down sinkers or web holders, a small eccentrically disposed disc-like member movably arranged on the inside of the needle circle at the side or location where the rib needles form the loops so that said member can be caused temporarily to occupy an operative positionin close proximity to the backs of the rib needles just clear of the nibs of the, holding-down sinkers or web holders for the purpose of holding-down the old rib loops formed prior to the welt until the rib needles cast them off after the formation of the plain knitted welt courses, and means for moving said member to and from its operative position. I

4. In a circular knitting machine which has superposed rotary needle cylinders, needles adapted to operate in both cylinders for rib knitting, a series of holding-down sinkers or web holders, and is adapted automatically to produce welts by suspending knitting on. the rib needles for a plurality of courses and then re suming rib knitting, meansgadapt'ed to control and operate the holding-down sinkersor web holders conjointly with the needles in such a manner that needles knitting in both cylinders 55 are caused respectively to draw yarn, in forming loops, round different edges presented by the holding-down sinkers or web holders, auxiliary holding-down means comprising a small disc mounted so as, to revolve freely 'on a rod 10; suspended longitudinally within the top needle pivoted lever, and

cylinder from one end of a means for automatically operating the leverso as to move the disc to and from an operative position wherein its periphery is disposed eccentri- 151; cally within the needle circle between the lower end of the top cylinder and the nibs of the holding-down sinkers or web holders and in close proximity to the backs of the rib needles in order to constitute a temporary draw edge for the rib 2 needles at predetermined times.

, 5. A circular knitting machine furnished with superposed rotary needle cylinders, needles adapted to operate in both cylinders for rib knitting a'sinker or web holder bed mounted on 25 the outside of theneedle cylinders, a series of holding-down sinkers or web holders insaid bed,-

a cam cap mounted co-axially with the said bed, means adapted to control and operate the holding-down sinkers or web holders com'ointly with l theneedles in such a manner that needles knitrendered operative temporarily after suspension of knitting on rib needles for use as auxiliary holding-tdown' means upon resumption of ribknitting to enable the rib needles definitely to draw loops for at least one course independently of the holding-downsinkers or web'holders.

6. A circular knitting machine furnished Withi Y superposed needle cylinders operable with cir cular action and with reciprocatory action, needles adaptedto operate in both cylinders for rib knitting, a

on the outside of the needle cylinders, a series of holding-down sinkers'or web holders inisaid bed, a; cam cap mounted co-axially with the said bed, means adapted to control and operate the holding-down sinkers orweb holders canjointly with the needles in such a manner that needles knitting in both cylinders are caused respectively'to draw yarn, in forming loops, round different draw edges presentedrby the holdingdown sinkers or web holders, a member adapted to be rendered operative temporarily'after sus-f pension of knitting on rib needles for use as'auxiliary holding-down means upon resumption of rib knitting to enable the rib needles definitely to draw loops for at least one course independently of the holding-down sinkers orweb holders, and a yarn feeder having a feed hole or slot and mounted for movement up and down for varying the angle at which the yarn extends to thelneedles from the feed hole or slot so that-the yarn can be disposed at a steeper angle for recipro eating knitting than it is for circular knitting;

THOMAS SCOTT GRIEVE.

sinker .or web holder .bed mounted 

